An Interview of Joshua Krane of CRAFT VAPERY from Los Angeles, California

How to reach CRAFT VAPERY

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Do you yourself vape and if so when did you start vaping and what was your greatest motivation to start vaping?:

Joshua:

Of course I vape! I have been proudly vaping since 2010 when I tried my first cig-a-like product. As for my motivation, when my doctor told me I had COPD and it was quickly becoming Emphysema, I knew I needed to stop my 2-pack a day habit immediately.

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If you were a smoker, have you stayed true to vaping or have you ever returned to smoking?:

Joshua:

I was a smoker, and to be honest a part of me will always self-identify as a smoker. I still smoke in my dreams nearly every night of the week. In the beginning, it was easy to have a cigarette here or there but over the past few years I have eliminated combustable tobacco from my life entirely.

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How do you think vaping could be further improved so it is more like the feel of smoking?:

Joshua:

I still feel that the devices are daunting to new users. Having to understand ohms and resistance is a non-starter for most smokers. They know how to operate their lighter, we need to make these devices that simple to use.

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What do you find are the biggest misconceptions about vaping?:

Joshua:

Where do I even start with this question? The biggest misconception is around the perceived health risks from vaping. It seems that despite any real evidence to support it, public sentiment towards vaping is worsening, not improving. We need real education about the harms of vaping and the comparison between those harms and the harms of combustible tobacco. I think the second biggest misconception is around what is actually in these products, and which components constitute potential health risks for the users of them. The entire industry seems to have been up in arms about Diacetyl and Acetyl Propanol, without any evidence that these chemicals are actually harmful in the context of vaping. Yet every study that shows the presence of heavy metals in vapor garners almost no scrutiny over the types of wire we use to build our coils. Our priorities are off within the industry as to what we should be trying to avoid for the health of our customers, and that causes huge misconceptions with the customers.

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Joshua:

For the record, I think you should change the wording of this question. Smoke Juice is wrong for two reasons: 1. we’re not smoking we’re vaping, and it’s important for us to maintain that distinction, and 2) we should, as an industry, immediately abandon calling our products “juice”. They are vaping liquids, and if we can agree on that then maybe, just maybe, we can get people to take us seriously when we say we don’t market these liquids to children. As for my go-to set-up: Zero Xtreme from Carlos Creations, Hurricane RTA and It’s Toast! from CRAFT VAPERY in the tank.

PremiumeLiquids.com:

Thank you Joshua for the feedback, we have been getting a lot of negative feed back on the term “Smoke Juices”. It is one of the oldest historical terms referring to premium ejuices or premium eliquids. We have updated in part our questions to refer to premium e juices.

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When did you start in the vape business?:

Joshua:

CRAFT VAPERY’s subscription service launched in December 2013. Our online shop launched in September of 2014. CRAFT VAPERY Wholesale launched in January 2015. CRAFT VAPERY Certifiably Vapable Liquids launched in July 2015.

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Why did you get into this vape business?:

Joshua:

I got into the vaping industry because of the transformative effect that very first cig-a-like had on my life. I knew right then this was the most transformative, disruptive technology I had ever experienced first hand, with the potential to effect more lives than anything I had ever experienced before. It seemed like a no brainer to combine my need to quit smoking due to COPD with my passion for technology and my intuition that the Vapor Industry would be won on flavor.

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What do enjoy most about working in the vaping industry?:

Joshua:

I hate to say it, but probably the excitement of not only being in a boot strapped industry during it’s formation but being a part of it’s development from within. Vaping is still the wild west, and it’s tremendously exciting to try to build a business in the middle of that rapid expansion and maturation of the industry.

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What is it like to be in the gold rush days of vaping business?:

Joshua:

It’s daunting, it’s terrifying, and it’s incredibly exciting. You would think having no rules would be amazing, and I’m sure for some vendors it is. At CRAFT we are trying to establish a standard of operation that will persist long beyond regulation in the industry. So we’re operating against what we believe the rules will be and where we have the chance we’re actively working to help shape those rules going forward.

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Do you have more than one vape business?:

Joshua:

Technically yes, each of the CRAFT verticals is perceived as a separate business. The subscription service is a separate business from the online shop and those are both separate from our liquid line and our wholesale business.

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Are you interested in expanding your vape business and if so how would you expand it?:

Joshua:

I think anyone who owns a business who is simply happy where they are and not looking to expand should really reevaluate their motivation to own that business. For me, I always want to keep growing and expanding. We’re constantly working to improve our offerings and grow our subscriber base. More specifically we have begun to expand that business internationally, and now ship our monthly boxes to over 40 countries. The largest area of expansion and growth will come on the manufacturing and distribution of vaping liquids. The launch of our CRAFT VAPERY Certifiably Vapable Liquids was just the beginning of that business for us, and you should expect some very cool announcements from us in that regard very soon.

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What’s the best advice you can give someone starting their own vape business?:

Joshua:

Don’t do it! Just kidding, but in all seriousness they should expect it to be a difficult and highly competitive marketplace. I think the biggest mistake to avoid is assuming that customers will just show up. Marketing and specifically customer acquisition are difficult and costly. If you aren’t anticipating a huge portion of your working capital to go toward marketing, you should rethink your budgets and your plans.

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What is your top selling mods?:

Joshua:

Our best selling mods are low-price temperature control devices like the IPV D2 and the Sigelei 150TC.

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Joshua:

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Do you think there is anything the vape community can do to stop big tobacco from lobbying against open and free vape business?:

Joshua:

I think there is a lot we can do. First off we need to be united in our message, our approach and the perception of our industry from the outside. I think it’s up to us to demonstrate to law makers that this industry is NOT big tobacco, it’s main street and it’s small business. I think we need to focus on showing government how vaping can be a revenue stream for state and local governments if they work with us to develop sensible vaping regulations and tax structures.

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How do you think the new FDA regulations will effect you and your vape business?:

Joshua:

I think they the number of flavors that are currently available will reduce my overall offering and selection for my consumers. I also feel that regulations will significantly curb the introduction of new flavors in the industry, which make effect my business by limiting the amount of “new” product we can push to our consumers. Finally, I feel that any regulations will open the door to taxation, and that is going to end up costing my customers more in the long run.

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Would you be interested in joining the vaping community that is fighting for the rights of vaping and vaping businesses?:

Joshua:

I am and I have been and I do still today. We support CASAA and are a paid member of SFATA. We lobby and attend rallies and we often try to rally the online community towards particular causes and calls to action. If there is more we can do, I’m all ears!

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Do you have favorite blogs and or reviewers that you trust?:

Joshua:

I trust Phil Busardo implicitly. I trust Ruby Roo & Grimm Green to tell me if I’m really going to like a product. I also trust that RipTrippers knows how to build an RDA.

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Where else can we find you hanging out on the web?:

Joshua:

/craftvapery just about everywhere

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Can people connect with you on social media?:

Joshua:

Of course! I am very active in our Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/WEARECRAFTVAPERS/ and I interact with our customers in there daily. It’s an open group, so even if you aren’t a subscriber or a customer, any and all are welcome in our group as long as they contribute and are productive.

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If you could get more involved with the vaping community socially, would you?:

Joshua:

I’m in dozens of facebook groups, I attend local meet-ups, I go to as many events and conventions as I can manage. I think I’m doing it.

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With the new trend for (deep character development ) storytelling, would you be interest in an ongoing story about you and your vape business?:

Joshua:

Of course! Maybe it will help me write that eventual book about CRAFT I would like to find time to write.

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How could the vaping community further help your business?:

Joshua:

Spread the word: CRAFT VAPERY is the only way to vape.

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If Premium e Juice manufacturers could help you with a more modernized website for your business in exchange for you selling their Premium e Juice, would you accept their help?:

Joshua:

No, I think it’s actually working more in reverse. We have a modern e-commerce website that many vaping liquid manufacturers now use to help them sell their products online.

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Of all the things you’ve ever been asked, whats the one thing nobody’s ever asked you that you would love to talk about?:

Joshua:

How the measure of my success is much more about the people I am able to touch as opposed to the money I make or the things I acquire.